Monochromatic Colour Schemes
How to Use Them for Fast and Easy Scrapbook Layouts
Monochromatic schemes also have the advantage of keeping the focus on your photos, because they are the most harmonious of all colour schemes. They start with a single colour and then combine it with darker and lighter shades of the same hue. To make your layout really work, choose your scheme from one of the colours in your photos.
Positive and Negative Emphasis
When working with a monochromatic scheme for scrapbook pages, one approach is to use positive emphasis. If you match your main layout color with that of the subject in the photos, the viewer’s eye will be drawn to the photo and the page will be in harmony.
Another approach is to match your layout color with the color of the background in the photos; this is called using negative emphasis. Negative emphasis will make the background of the photo blend with the layout, drawing the viewer’s eye to the subject of the photo rather than the whole picture.
Using Black and White Photos
Some scrapbookers think that you can use any color scheme at all for your page if you are using black-and-white photos. That’s not always the case. It depends on how you develop your photos. If you send them out to be processed as true black-and-white images, they will be black and white with shades of grey. The photos will work with any color, although you will need to consider things like value and contrast for a pleasing effect.
If you have your photos printed at the local one-hour lab, they will have a slight color cast, typically green, red or blue. This is true whether you ask the lab to print a black-and-white photo from a color or black-and-white negative or a digital file (it has to do with how the photos are processed).
It might take a little more effort, but if you choose the appropriate color paper and embellishments for your page, you won’t even notice the slight color in the picture. Try laying your photos on different colors of paper or cardstock before you decide on a scheme, to see which looks best.
Adding Interest
The risk of using a monochromatic scheme is that it’s so harmonious it becomes boring. There are several things you can do to prevent this. Be sure to mix dark and light shades of your chosen colour for contrast. Break up the colour by including neutrals like white or black in your layout. Play with metallic embellishments, which also tend to have neutral colors. Or just use a simple scheme to shine a spotlight on heartfelt journaling.
There may be several colours in your photos that you could choose from when deciding on the scheme for your layout. You can select any of them as the colour for your background. There isn’t necessarily a right or wrong choice – it all depends on the mood that you’re trying to evoke with your scrapbook page.
Supplies
Catch Me Daddy: cardstock - The Paper Company; textured cardstock - Bazzill; computer font - Book Antiqua (MS Word)
Tropical Fruit: cardstock - Bazzill; patterned paper - Frances Meyer Inc., eyelet letters - Making Memories; brads - Doodlebug Design Inc.; pen - Zig Memory System; fonts - Tabitha, Vassallo, Willow, Typewriter, Boulder, Blacklight D (all downloaded from the internet), CK Bella (Creating Keepsakes Best of Creative Lettering Combo CD)
An example of negative emphasis
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An example of positive emphasis
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